This invention relates to an automatic photograph printing control system, and more particularly to an automatic control system for effectively improving an efficiency of printing works by processing the necessary information concerning a negative film to be printed by means of a magnetic recording device, and still more particularly to an automatic control system suitable for printing a color film with no irregularity.
Printing work of a large volume of photographs to be carried out by mechanical operation goes ahead with complete automation for a guide. However, at the present stage or to some extent, complete elimination of manual manipulation is very difficult or impossible. In a sense, it does not necessarily follow that the elimination of manual handling is always desirable.
A process of reaching the complete automation cannot be expressed by simple algebra and an effort for attaining the goal progressively increases as the degree of completeness desired rises. It is attributable to the fact that a photograph is not a simple mechanical outcome, but contains visual-psychological elements and that simplification of the information contained in the negative film is inevitable in a process of automation and automatization concerning the contents of a predetermined extent produces new exception. These backgrounds result in the requirement of manual handling. These circumstances bear a close resemblance to the difficulties for raising the purity of chemical substances, for example.
Thus, although the working efficiency is surely improved by any type of automation system, a yield rate may not be improved. From this point of view, the automatization of printing works does not necessarily improve the efficiency of printing operations on the whole.
Manual handling that is required to be introduced may be classified roughly into two categories:
A. Selection between an ineffective frame which is not worthy to be printed because of insufficient exposure and so called "out of focus" and the like and an effective frame worth printing. PA1 B. Correcting operation of color failure and abnormal light negatives and the like which cannot be printed under appropriate exposure by ordinary automatic exposure control systems. PA1 a. At least two operations of the selection of effective and ineffective frames and the decision of correction value of exposure are carried out in one lot prior to printing works. The result of the former is recorded in the negative film itself and the result of the latter is provisionally stored in a magnetic or a similar recording device. PA1 b. Two operations mentioned above are performed by using a reader which is operated in the relation of OFF-LINE from a printer with the help of manual handling. PA1 c. The magnetic or similar recording medium into which data is stored at previous stage and the corresponding negative film is mounted as a set on the printer which is separated from the prereader. The printer detects the effective frames and performs the printing operation continuously while correcting the value of exposure with the correction value recorded in the magnetic or similar recording medium.
From this point of view, in order to obtain satisfactory prints, manual handling becomes necessary. However, the introduction of manual operation naturally requires an expert and lowers its working efficiency. The present invention deals with problems for optimizing assignment of works conducted by manual and mechanical operations.